Posts

Concluding Thoughts

Image
  So, this is it. My final post- in this, I summarise my blog so far highlighting aspects which were important to me Throughout my blog, I explored many aspects of the water-gender relationship including, collection, sanitation etc, and how the lack of access to safe water perpetuates the gender discrepancy. I focussed on Sub-Saharan Africa, and in doing so I aimed to keep the message that Wanaina (2006) expressed about Africa being a continent of diversity, thus avoiding any stereotyped perceptions. In my introductory post, I highlighted the UN’s stance on the SDG’s as being ‘the blueprint for better change’. Upon analysing the relationship between gender and water for the past few months, I would say yes- I would consider it to be a ‘blueprint' or foundation in providing a direction for change, however the SDGs are lacking: There is little acknowledgement of MHM or water collection in the SDGs relating to gender and water (5 and 6). This re-emphasises my point of needing to ...
2 comments
Read more

Is participation truly the answer to female empowerment? The Case Study of Ghana

Image
Prior to concluding my blog, Participation is a topic I want to touch on. I will analyses the value of participatory development in empowering females in terms of water management, and highlight how women need more influence. Participatory development entails empowerment through the engagement of community actors ( Campbell and Vaino-Matilla 2003 ).It is prominent in the mainstream agenda, having a relationship with the SDGs, with the practice of participatory development of females, contributing to equality and their empowerment (Goncales et a 2019). Water is a female domain, especially at a household level ( Musembi 2015 ) emphasising the value of a woman’s relationship with water.   The aim of female participatory development is to give women space within existing development structures ( Cornwall 2003 ).  In Ghana, by decentralising water supply management, the government aimed to empower local people through participation. Women in the commu...
2 comments
Read more

Part 2- Alleviating Period Poverty: MHM

Image
  source Following on from the last post, I will now focus on software solutions for addressing MHM, examining education and national agency. I believe that education, is the most important aspect, if long-term change is to take place, not only surrounding MHM, but WaSH and gender in general. Education of MHM allows issues such as discrimination and exclusion to be addressed, creates an environment which is supportive and allows the needs of females to be supported ( SSwanyana and Bitanhirwe 2017 ), and in doing so, breaks the negative narrative surrounding menstruation, and thus creates long term changes to knowledge and attitudes. With the better knowledge to handle their menses, this reduces school absenteeism, which reduces the potential for early pregnancy and child marriage  (T ellier and Hyttel 2018 ). In Kenya, a group called Empower Net provides in-and-out of school education support group for girls struggling with their menses. The aim of this is to create a supp...
2 comments
Read more

Part 1- Alleviating Period poverty: Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)

Image
  In last week’s blogs post, I examined period poverty and how the lack of safe water and the gender inequality perpetuate this, leading to a variety of physical, mental and societal impacts on girls. Therefore, I will now look at the different forms of MHM that has been put in place, in order to reduce these impacts. MHM is known as having the right materials to improve comfort and dignity whilst a female is on her period ( Sommer and Sahin 2013 ).  MHM is multifaceted problem and thus requires a variety of solutions ( Wilson et al 2014 )- so I will be exploring this over 2 blog posts.  The image below highlights how a combination of hardware and software solutions can sufficiently improve MHM. source Hardware solutions Local business initiatives have been set up to provide women with a combination of reusable and disposable sanitary products ( Wilson et al 2014 ). Two examples include the Afripads and the Makapads. Afripads:s ource Makapads: source   Af...
2 comments
Read more

Period Poverty: Reinforcing the Gendered Nature of Sanitation

Image
  source In last week’s blog about World Toilet Day, I emphasised the need to examine the gendered implications of sanitation thus allowing for development. Thus, this week I want to specifically look at period poverty with reference to Kibera, a shanty town in Kenya.  Period poverty is the combination of multiple practical and psychosocial deprivations which are experienced by mensuration women in resource poor settings  ( Crichton et al 2013 ) . Due to this, lives and wellbeing’s of women are being affected  (Action aid n/d) . In this blog I will elaborate on the dimensions which perpetuate period poverty, and how greater research is needed in reference to this.  Factors perpetuating period poverty The impact of insufficient WASH on females has been continuously highlighted throughout my blog, and of course this is the one of many factors perpetuating period poverty: Within Nairobi, less than ¼ of primary schools meet the minimum required latrines per pu...
4 comments
Read more

World Toilet Day 2020

Image
Source What is World Toilet Day? As it was world toilet day on the 19 th November, I decided to make it the focus of my blog this week. World toilet day celebrates toilets and raises awareness of the fact that there are 4.2 billion people living without sufficient access to sanitation. It is also about achieving Goal 6 of the SDG- water and sanitation for all by 2030  ( UN 2020 ).  One thing that shocked me as I was researching this topic, was that more people have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet  ( Thieme 2018 )!  Shocking! The need for sanitation is especially important this year due to the Covid19 pandemic. This makes the lack of sanitation even more concerning because it shows how small things such as washing your hands are so important in preventing the virus from spreading ( BBC 2020 ). The theme for 2020 is sustainable sanitation and climate change, emphasising the need to maintain health and security whilst encouraging the sustainable handli...
2 comments
Read more

The Burden of Water Collection: The Case Study of Nyanchwa, Kenya

Image
  In my previous post, I contextualised the water scarcity in Africa. Due to restricted water access in Sub-Saharan Africa, one (usually the female) must leave their home and travel to access water. It is estimated that approximately two thirds of the Sub-Saharan Africa population are required to collect water ( Graham et al 2016 ) .  Thus, in this post I want to highlight issues associated with water collection, and how it accentuates the gender discrepancy. I will use  Varickanickal et al (2020 ) case study of Nyanchwa, a village in Kenya, examining the water-risk perceptions of female water collectors to illustrate this. The reason for choosing Kenya is rather personal. my grandfather was born and raised in Kenya, and I remember talking to him a few years ago about his life there. A detail I remembered was how every morning, his servant (who was female) used to spend about an hour daily collecting water. This gave me an incentive to research further the water collectio...
2 comments
Read more